NEW YORK — Columbia baseball continues its nine-game home stand this weekend against Cornell from Robertson Field at Satow Stadium.
First pitch in game one of the series is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday. The teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 11:30 a.m. All three games will air on ESPN+.
Projected Columbia starting pitchers:
Game 1: RHP Andy Leon (5 APP, 5 GS, 3-1 W/L, 2.59 ERA, 24.1 IP)
Game 2: RHP Joe Sheets (5 APP, 5 GS, 1-2 W/L, 3.33 ERA, 24.1 IP)
Game 3: TBD
Projected Cornell starting pitchers:
Game 1: RHP Ethan Hamill (5 APP, 5 GS, 0-3 W/L, 8.02 ERA, 21.1 IP)
Game 2: LHP Noah Keller (6 APP, 5 GS, 1-2 W/L, 8.24 ERA, 19.2 IP)
Game 3: RHP Von Baker (5 APP, 5 GS, 0-3 W/L, 11.57 ERA, 16.1 IP)
Columbia's Status
The Lions (10-10, 2-1) are coming off a 23-11 record-setting win over Monmouth on Wednesday. Columbia set a new program record for hits in a game with 26, shattering the previous mark of 24 back on April 11, 2010 against Harvard. The Lions also tied their single-game record with six home runs, last done on April 22, 2015 against Fordham.
Columbia belted five home runs in the first five innings of Wednesday's game. All nine of Columbia's starters recorded a hit, RBI, and run as the Lions reached the .500 mark for the first time this season. Jack Kail and Pat Wade each hit their first career home run. Seth Dardar recorded his first career five-hit game and Thomas Santana earned his first career win.
Andy Blake leads the team with 34 hits, while Griffin Palfrey is hitting a conference-best .409. Right behind Palfrey is teammate Hayden Schott, who is batting .398 and leads the team with six home runs. Weston Eberly has a league-best 24 RBIs on the season. Columbia has the top four RBI leaders in the Ivy League. Palfrey is second with 21, Blake is third with 20, and Dardar is tied for fourth with 19. Blake and Schott are tied for the league lead with 23 runs scored.
On the mound, Leon's 2.59 ERA ranks third-best in the Ivy League. Justin Tucker ranks second in the conference with three saves.
Cornell's Status
The Big Red enter this weekend's series with a record of 2-13 (2-1) with wins over Yale last weekend. After starting 0-12, Cornell took 2-of-3 in its Ivy League-opening series in West Haven, Conn. Cornell is hitting .211 on the season, led by John Quinlan (.295). The Big Red's pitching staff has compiled an 8.00 ERA. Relief pitcher Carson Mayfield has a team-low 5.21 ERA over seven appearances out of the bullpen. Cornell concludes its 18-game road trip after this three-game series in New York.
Series History - Cornell
Columbia is 115-141 all-time against the Big Red. The Lions have won four in a row against Cornell and seven out of the last eight in the series. Last season, Columbia swept the Big Red in Ithaca, N.Y. The Lions took 2-of-3 the last time the teams met in New York.
Home Sweet Home
After playing the first 15 games of this season on the road, the Lions continue a nine-game home stand this weekend. Following three games with Cornell, the Lions host UConn. This marks the longest home stand since 2010, when Columbia played 10 home games in a row from March 27-April 7. The Lions went 9-1 in that stretch. Columbia is 4-1 at home this year.
Offensive Explosion
Columbia's bats are off to a hot start through the first 20 games of the season. The Lions rank in the top 100 nationally in batting average (.294) doubles per game (2.25), home runs per game (1.20), slugging percentage (.476), and triples per game (0.25). Columbia is averaging 8.4 runs per game, which ranks tied for 33rd in the country and is the highest clip among Ivy League teams.
Columbia has scored 15 runs in five games this season (UNC Wilmington on March 3 twice, March 4; Alabama on March 11, and Monmouth on March 29). The Lions are 4-1 in those games. Among Ivy League teams, Penn has scored 15 runs twice and Harvard has done it once.
Stay Hot, Schott
Hayden Schott is continuing where he left off from his record-breaking season in 2022. The Lions right fielder has recorded a hit in all but four games this season and leads the team in home runs, doubles, OPS, slugging percentage, total bases, and is tied for the team lead in runs.
Among The Best of the Nation
Through six weeks of the season, the Lions have two players receiving national recognition from D1 Baseball.
Right fielder Hayden Schott ranks No. 81 on D1 Baseball's Top 100 Outfielders List.
Catcher Weston Eberly ranks No. 45 on D1 Baseball's Top 50 Catchers List. Eberly was ranked No. 37 on D1 Baseball's Preseason Top 50 Catchers List.
Outfielder Cole Hage checked in at No. 122 on D1 Baseball's Preseason Top 150 Outfielders List. Last season, Hage led the Lions in batting average (.335) and on-base percentage (.454).
Turning Two
Columbia ranks 24th in the country in double plays turned per game. The Lions have totaled 19, which ranks best in the Ivy League.
Weekly Awards
Following the series win over the Crimson Tide on March 11, both Griffin Palfrey and Andy Leon earned Weekly Ivy League awards. Palfrey garnered Player of the Week honors and Leon was named Pitcher of the Week.
Palfrey started at first base in all three games against the previously unbeaten Crimson Tide, going 4-for-9 with two doubles, two runs scored, three walks, and a team-high six RBIs. The award was the first of Palfrey's career and the second of the season for Columbia. Seth Dardar was named Ivy League Player of the Week on March 6.
Palfrey recorded a hit in all three games against Alabama and is currently riding a six-game hitting streak. The sophomore from Vancouver, B.C., went 2-for-3 and drove in a career-high five RBIs in game two of Saturday's doubleheader where the Lions defeated Alabama, 15-3.
Leon picked up his second win of the season in the 10-7 series-opening victory over the Crimson Tide. The sophomore from Sugar Land, Texas, threw five innings and allowed just two runs on six hits while striking out five. The award is the first of Leon's career and the first pitching accolade of the season for Columbia.
This marked the second time since 2017 that a pair of Lions won Ivy League awards and the second time since 2014 that both the Ivy League Player and Pitcher of the Week were Lions. The last time Columbia baseball received Ivy League Player and Pitcher of the Week was April 18, 2022 when Hayden Schott and Joe Sheets earned the honors.
History In Tuscaloosa
The Lions won a three-game series at No. 18 Alabama on March 11. The victory in the series finale marked the first time in program history that Columbia won a series against an SEC team. Columbia earned its second and third win over an SEC team in program history when it defeated the Crimson Tide 10-7 in the series opener and then 15-3 in the series finale. The first win over an SEC team in program history came in 1989 at Tennessee. The Lions handed Alabama its first two losses of 2023.
The two wins over the Crimson Tide now gives head coach Brett Boretti 12 victories over ranked teams during his tenure at Columbia.
The Schedule
Columbia has a 43-game slate set for 2023. The Lions played its first 15 games on the road before returning to Robertson Field at Satow Stadium for the home opener on March 22 against Manhattan. Columbia's non-Ivy League opponents are made up of teams from 10 different conferences: ACC (Virginia), CAA (UNC Wilmington), SEC (Alabama), Sun Belt (Troy), Southern (Samford), AAC (Tulane), MAAC (Manhattan, Monmouth, Marist), Big East (UConn, St. John's), A10 (Fordham), and Patriot (Army).
"We are excited about the tough schedule we have put together for 2023," head coach Brett Boretti said. "The schedule is something we take a lot of pride in putting together and also a big attraction for the guys that come here. We want to play against top 25-50 teams in order to prepare as best as we can for the conference season and I think UVA, UNCW and our spring break trip to Alabama, Troy, Samford, and Tulane will do that."
Columbia's first road conference series is at Yale on April 8-9. St. John's visits for the home finale at Robertson Field at Satow Stadium on May 2. The regular season wraps up in Philadelphia, PA for a series at Penn on May 13-14. The Ivy League tournament is scheduled for May 19-22 with the top four teams in the conference standings earning a spot in the tournament and the no. 1 overall seed will host. NCAA Regionals will run from June 2-5, followed by NCAA Super Regionals June 9-12, and then the College World Series June 16-26.
The Roster
Columbia returns 29 players from 2022's Ivy League Championship team that went 32-18 and 17-4 in conference play. Just 11 players are not returning for 2023. Nine newcomers have joined the program, including eight first year players and transfer James Vaughn from Monroe College.
The 2023 roster features Weston Eberly (catcher), Hayden Schott (outfield) and Cole Hage (outfield), who were named First Team All-Ivy League following their stellar campaigns last season. Second Team All-Ivy League selections Joe Sheets (pitcher), Anton Lazits (third base), Andy Blake (shortstop), and EJ Kreutzmann (designated hitter) return as well. Pitcher and 2022 Ivy League honorable mention JD Ogden is also back.
First year infielder Jack Kail was D1 Baseball's Ivy League Freshman of the Year. Kail was a four year varsity player at Peters Township High School where during his senior year posted a .371 batting average with 10 doubles, 3 triples, and 2 home runs.
"I think our defense has been very steady," Boretti said. "We lost our right side of the infield to graduation (Austin Mowrey and Tyler MacGregor) and our centerfielder (Joshua Solomon). Those are some big pieces to replace. I think we have made progress with multiple guys at first base and our right side has been good. I also feel our outfield play is a strength of ours. It's a veteran group out there and they continue to work at it. Defense starts in the middle of the field and we are fortunate to have Weston Eberly (catcher) and Andy Blake (shortstop) as the backbone."
The Captains
Seniors Camron Hubble, Andy Blake, Weston Eberly, and Hayden Schott will serve as the program's captains for the 2023 season.
"I think our players did a tremendous job selecting the team captains for 2023," Boretti said in a statement. "Each of them possesses strong leadership qualities as well as the ability to hold their teammates accountable to the highest standards."
The Coaching Staff
Three-time Ivy League Coach of the Year Brett Boretti enters his 18th season at the helm of the Columbia baseball program. Associate head coach Dan Tischler begins his 10th year on the staff. New hires include pitching coach Tom Carty and assistant coach Canyon Kyle. Carty arrives at Columbia after six seasons as the pitching coach at Long Island University. Kyle served as a graduate assistant last September to December before being promoted to an assistant in January.
Longtime assistant coach Jim Walsh left the program this offseason after 17 years to become the varsity head coach at Union City High School, where he has taught since 1996. Walsh was the longest-tenured assistant on Boretti's staff and was a part of six Ivy League Championships.
Preseason Polls
Columbia was tabbed to finish first in the 2023 Ivy League Preseason Poll, as voted on by eight sports information directors and eight media members from around the league. The Lions have been picked to finish first in the preseason poll for the first time since the poll was instituted in 2018. Before this year's first-place rank, Columbia had either been picked to finish second or third in the previous four Ivy League Baseball Preseason Polls. Columbia received 12 out of 16 first-place votes in this year's poll.
D1 Baseball's Eric Sorenson projected the Lions to finish first in the Ivy League standings and be the lone regional team to come out of the conference.
Up Next
The Lions host UConn on Tuesday to close out their nine-game home stand from Robertston Field at Satow Stadium. First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m. and will air on ESPN+.
Follow The Lions
For the latest on Columbia baseball, follow @CULionsBaseball on Twitter and Instagram, and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
